This Graphic Novel Asks "What If Only Black People Had Superpowers?"

What if only Black people got superpowers?

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Growing up as a black man who nerded out for comic books, I'd be lying if I said I didn't cling to black superheroes. Black Panther, Bishop, Storm, Luke Cage, and Deathlok were some of my favorites just because, in a sea of (mostly) white superpowered beings, these guys looked the most like me. While the tide has shifted with Nick Fury, Spider-Man, and Captain America currently being black characters, it's still tough to relate to a lot of the more mainstream stories in the Marvel universe (not to mention what goes down in the DC and Image houses).

That discrepancy is brought to a head with this new graphic novel, BLACK, which builds a world where only Black people got superpowers. The premise alone is insane, and the crew who put it together–Kwanza Osajyefo (former digital editor at Marvel and DC), Tim Smith 3 (Red After the Party), Jamal Igle (Molly Danger), and Khary Randolph (TMNTThe BoondocksHellboy)–seem to have nailed it in their 120-page, six chapter opus. 

The synopsis of the story is simple: "After miraculously surviving being gunned down by police, a young man learns that he is part of the biggest lie in history. Now he must decide whether it's safer to keep it a secret or if the truth will set him free." While there isn't much in the way of more info in there, one has to feel that there's some similarities with the re-imagined world of mutants in Marvel's Ultimate Universe (aka they were a part of a government experiment) with a hint of the very real Tuskegee syphilis experiment.

While their project has exceeded its goal on Kickstarter, they are still taking money until February 29, 2016, allowing backers to get everything from limited edition BLACK paperbacks, card sets, buttons, stickers, and much, much more.

[via Black Nerd Problems]

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